


Platonic Hearts

by ari_storm



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang just wants good things for his friends and somehow gets more in the process, Date gone wrong woops, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, I just want good things for these two, I met them at a party trope, Minor Sokka/Suki, Not quite idiots but in love, Past workaholic tendencies mention, Plot that makes ur head spin? Nah just two idiots realizing that they fell in love stupidly fast, Same with Azula Mai and Ty Lee, They/them pronouns for Toph btw, Toph is agender bc I said so, Uncle Iroh is mentioned but doesn't play a big role, Zutara, but if you didn't get the subtext Mai and Ty Lee are dating, this is just cute shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28131933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ari_storm/pseuds/ari_storm
Summary: "Just as she felt ready to give up and accept Sokka would tease her tomorrow for it, she saw Aang bounding her way, pulling a confused man behind him. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was smiling so much when the other looked as though he'd just been pulled away here against his will. Upon closer view, her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the scar on the left side of his face. The tensed questions that lied on her tongue withdrew as Aang started talking."College AU and secret santa gift for valiantlyjollynightmare on tumblr !
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 2





	Platonic Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for valiantlyjollynightmare as part of the atla secret santa exchange! I hope you enjoy it, lovely! The time period for when this takes place is uhh modern? I tried to keep it grounded but still up for interpretation. I have a couple hcs spiced in for my own indulgence so there's that too 👀 Enjoy 💞 !!

  
It wasn't as though Katara wasn't going to go to the party with her friends. No, she loved her friends dearly, even when Sokka, Aang, and Toph(though they hid their tracks better) seemed to cause less ideal situations on a weekly basis. Suki was much easier to talk to without getting a headache, but of course, she had to be with Katara's social butterfly of a brother. Toph was off doing who knows what- just hopefully legal so the group doesn't have to play along with their 'Sorry, I'm blind and just got lost' act. Again. And Aang, while he did drop by near her corner of the random apartment room to ask how she was, was just as eager to socialize with people here. 

So now, she just held her nearly empty plastic cup, the strobe lights making it hard to see if the blobs in the crowd ahead were people or shadows. Dressed in a light blue sweater and jeans, she silently thanked herself for not wearing a dress as it would get cold from just standing here.

Katara desperately wanted to leave but didn't want to deal with the repercussions of Sokka calling her a "fun sponge" or whatever new nickname he came up with. But, why should she remain here when she had exams to study for? Being a WGS major wasn't all shits and giggles as some people thought. Sighing aloud, though she couldn't hear it through the blaring techno music, she went to the table and refilled her cup. So far, no one had spiked the punch, but she wasn't going to wait until too late to risk getting a drink. 

Maybe what was most upsetting was that she thought this time would be different. That maybe, _miraculously_ , she'd want to hang out with strangers and bond. That's how she'd met Aang in the first place, and that turned out well(albeit, he did most of the talking at first). College life just didn't offer as many socializing opportunities as high school. Now she was in her Sophomore year of college and only _just_ managed to damper down on her workaholic habits.

 _Which is your own fault because you spent all your time studying._ She shook her head slightly at the thought. 

Just as she felt ready to give up and accept Sokka would tease her tomorrow for it, she saw Aang bounding her way, pulling a confused man behind him. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was smiling so much when the other looked as though he'd just been pulled away here against his will. Upon closer view, her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the scar on the left side of his face. Her tensed wondering was halted as Aang started talking.

"Katara! Hi, how's the party treating you?" He asked her loudly over the music. Aang's smile was contagious to anyone, and she found herself smiling fondly.

"Alright, I guess. Who's your friend here?" Katara asked, and the man in question seemed to suddenly go on edge when he was brought into question.

"Hello, I'm- I'm Zuko," His response was very stiff and hard to hear with the music in the background, but Katara nodded and smiled at him, knowing that some people liked to be reassured like that when meeting new people. He smiled back a little. 

"Yeah! You remember Ty Lee, right? This is her friend Azula's brother! You guys both looked lonely, so I thought it'd be a great idea for you to talk," He said brightly, before waving and skipping off before either of the two could say anything. Katara loved her friends, but there really were times she was tempted to lecture every one of them on reading the room.

"Sorry about him, he's just like that. I'm Katara by the way, since I didn't introduce myself properly. I'm a WGS major and sophomore. Do you attend Ba Sing Se University too?" She asked. 

These were standard conversation topics- no need to worry too much over anything else yet. If it was a stiff conversation and then silence she'd have to accept that.

"Y- yeah, I'm an accounting major. I don't go on campus a lot, but I work at my uncle's tea shop near the university and take mostly online classes," His voice low but silvery, Katara couldn't help but get a little lost when looking at him while he spoke, only snapping back when he finished, grateful for the lights disguising the flush she felt spread on her face.  
  
"That's probably better than walking between lectures. What's the tea shop called?" 'Maybe I'll stop by?', she wanted to add, but feared coming off as too pushy. What was normal pacing in familiarity for her didn't seem to be it for him. 

"The Jasmine Dragon- it's still kinda new to the area, but it's pretty popular," He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. 

_Cute_. Katara resisted from saying. _Lots_ of things about different people were cute, but she doubted that it would come off as platonic to someone she hardly knew.

"Uncle's happy with it, and Aang already said he'd drop by with friends soon. I only hope Uncle doesn't say something weird about me helping to bring in people to the 'tea side'." He seemed more amused than ticked off by the thought, though his eyes widened afterward.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to..." He fumbled for the words, eyes darting from hers, and Katara hesitated a moment before carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Is this okay?" She asked, not wanting to overstep any boundaries, especially of someone who seemed as nervous as Zuko, and he nodded after a moment. 

"Don't worry about it Zuko. You're welcome to share anything here. I have to listen to Sokka and Aang all day, so trust me, I'd appreciate someone new," She said with a joking lilt to her voice. Or, half-joking. Her brother and Aang were important to her, but their approach to things was different than her own. Suki was better than Sokka but still just as much of a social butterfly, and Toph had their own strange way of showing their love that came off as teasing insults half of the time. Whether Zuko would add on to this mess or make it more bearable, she didn't know, but found herself wanting to risk it anyway.

"Thanks," He started, then made an 'o' expression and fumbled in his jean pocket for something, eventually bringing out his phone.

"Ah, I thought we could...can I have your number?" Zuko asked, and Katara blinked a couple times at the crimson painting his cheeks that she could see even through the gaudy lights. 

_He's so cute. And handsome. Some people win all the genes lottery, huh?_ Her thoughts wandered and-

Too late, she realized she'd been staring and made an awkward attempt at laughing it off, before taking out her phone. 

This was bound to unfold in at least a somewhat interesting way.

~·~·~ 

Katara had just opened her textbook to study after getting out of the shower when her phone buzzed with a notification. It was a weekday, so she groaned at first, wondering what stunt Sokka possibly could've pulled now(the last one had resulted in a fire and several confused officers). However, when she looked at it, a more pleasant feeling took over her. It was a message from Zuko, which she went to open quickly. 

The party had been only a week ago, and to be frank, she didn't blame him if he didn't want to text her at all. After all, he seemed like he hadn't wanted to be there either. But no, here he was, proving Katara's doubts wrong. She hadn't said anything first only because the night of the party exhausted her and she had her first classes at 8 am the next morning. Even with the image of Zuko in the corner of her mind all day, she hadn't been able to find the time and energy to start a conversation. Thankfully it seemed he decided to take one for the team when it came to awkward first texts.

 **Zuko** : Hi this is Zuko, are you free this Friday? Aang is at the tea shop and says he wants us to go to an amusement park. I believe the rest of your friend group is going as well?

 **Katara** : Nice to hear from you Zuko! And I'll let Aang know I'll be joining you guys <3

Adding the heart was instinctual. She does it all the time with her texts to her friends. But Zuko was newer to texting with her. Should she specify that it was platonic?

_Was it platonic?_

She ignored that thought. Surely she was just hopeful about her new friend.

Figuring it was harmless, she went to text Aang about it, earning a series of smiley gifs sent in response. Truthfully, Katara wasn't sure if he *knew* or not how annoying his gifs got. No one did, and no one asked. When it had become a sort of agreed thing to never directly ask about, she wasn't sure, but it had, and Aang continued to spam them with useless gifs throughout the day(whenever they're almost convinced it's simply naivety, he says something that draws their suspicion right back out). It was a useless game no one was winning. Except probably Aang.

A couple of moments later she received another text from Zuko and found her studying being gradually pushed out of importance. 

**Zuko** : Okay then, sorry if I interrupted your evening 

Then not even a moment later, the dots signaling he was typing popped up again.

 **Zuko** : <3 

* * *

Zuko felt like he was stupid. So very stupid. Or at least, that's what his thoughts were currently yelling at him the second he sent the additional heart in a text to Katara.

She had seemed nice and welcoming at the party, but maybe it was the strobe lights confusing him? Yeah, he'd probably just imagined her gaze linger on him for a few extra moments. So why- why did he send the heart? 

_She sent one._ His rational thoughts tried to reason with him.

 _That doesn't mean I can just, send one back! What if I just ruined everything with that?_ His not so rational thoughts weighed heavier, much to the disappointment of Zuko himself. Feelings were frustrating and frankly, overy unhelpful, especially in the midst of studying all the notes that disinterested him. He knew his Uncle would give some lecture to him had he known Zuko was so conflicted lately, so he carefully avoided worrying him with these thoughts.

Still, it was the morning, and Zuko had a report he had to turn in, in person so as to avoid any claims of it getting lost in emails. Coincidentally. It was a coincidence, and yet he felt an unexplainable blush creep up his face every time he realized he could run into Katara. It was a stupidly hopeful thought.

Zuko put on a red checkered patterned shirt and jeans and tried to do something with his hair. He was never good at doing it, and having primarily online classes didn't help him put more of an effort into it. Either way, it was what he was dealing with, and Azula wasn't here to tease him for it so it would do. 

Gathering his assignments, he tried to focus on one thing at a time and started out. He lived in a rented apartment close to his Uncle's tea shop and the university, which was both great and a curse. Great because whatever he needs to get done at the school can be done quick; a curse because he always stopped at the coffee shop across from Uncle Iroh's tea shop, causing his Uncle to question his 'loyalty to tea', whatever that meant. 

Zuko ducked through the halls, unnerved by the crowd of people that weren't even a little familiar. He tried not to pay mind to it much and felt like collapsing in relief when he reached the door to his professor's classroom. Only a few people hung around the room, and Zuko gave it all his effort to try to appear confident. As soon as he handed over his assignment, he went out of the class, waiting a moment as the streams of people in front of him lessened.

Among these streams of people, Zuko heard a familiar-sounding voice and was already looking towards it without much thought. There, he saw Katara, who was talking vibrantly with another girl(Zuko remembers her from one of the many, _many_ pictures Aang sent him of their friend group and thinks her name is Suki).

For a moment he felt brave enough to attempt at waving at her, but with the crowd, and with his awkwardness suddenly bringing him crashing back down to reality, he froze up. 

Taking in a breath, Zuko turned and simply headed back to his apartment. He could talk to Katara anytime! Not that he particularly had any reason to spring a sudden phone call on her, but it was a nice thought. 

Of course, maybe he could entertain that thought more if he hadn't just missed an opportunity to say hi, or if he hadn't freaked out when he just sent a heart emoji. Katara had suddenly taken up so much space in Zuko's mind and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it yet. It was a bright feeling as she was a bright person, and yet it was also a heart-clenching feeling put on hold only by his insecurities.

As he gets ready for his shift at his Uncle's tea shop, he silently agrees that doing the assignment was less stress-inducing than delivering it that day.

~·~·~

The next day came soon, and Zuko found that he greatly anticipated everyone coming over. He'd been keeping in touch with Aang and Sokka mostly, though Toph would occasionally send random voicemails out of the blue. It became apparent to him that Aang had given his phone number to them, though he didn't mind it at all. It was nice to receive messages that weren't people calling him 'Zu Zu' whenever he let his guard down.

"Why's it so empty?" Aang asked. He was clingier than the people Zuko was used to hanging around, except maybe Ty Lee, and maybe that's why his presence nicely familiar.

"Uncle Iroh planned to close it off at this time as soon as I mentioned friends were coming over," Zuko admitted, nose scrunching slightly when he realized he couldn't say it was also because never brought over friends that weren't also Azula's friends. Katara's light giggle caught his attention, and he felt his face flush.

"I'll go start the tea!" He sputtered, not knowing quite else what to say.

In the kitchen Zuko went brewing area, quickly distracting himself with making the tea. He realized he hadn't asked what kind they liked, so only settled on a simple green tea. 

_Does Katara like this kind?_ He found himself thinking as he went to heat the water. These kinds of thoughts had been persistent, and as much as he wanted to simply blame it on wanting to be a good friend, he knows better than to disregard his feelings so simply now.

As he finished making the drinks, Toph skipped into the room with Sokka, Toph making themself known as they loudly clacked their white cane on the floor.

"Zuko, any idea where the cups are? Extra points if they're glass!" Toph asked, a mischievous smile on their face.

"Wait, why?" Zuko asked, pausing in moving the tray of teacups. 

"A challenge that they can't back down from or they owe me $20," Sokka answered, adding nothing more to their explanation that only left Zuko more confused than before.

"I- I'll get you them, one second," He agreed without further question and Toph make a triumphant fist in the air. 

Zuko didn't look back after he handed them two the two, and only hoped Uncle Iroh wouldn't come back soon as he would probably have a heart attack over whatever those two were going to do. Finally, he carried over the tea to his friends - it was still new to think of this bizarre group that way - and placed them on the table. However, Katara was the only one sitting down, as the other four were apparently more interested in stacking glass cups. 

Trying to ignore the thumping of his heart, he sat next to her and scrambled around his mine for a conversation starter. It was different when gaudy lights flashing around them and he couldn't see her as clearly. Couldn't see the allure of her eyes or how pretty she styled her hair. What had taken Zuko aback that night was simply her personality, and that was enough of a cheesy thought to make his head spin. But of course, he'd always had this problem of making a big thing out of something small. Maybe he was just reading too into it - it wouldn't have been the first time.

"Sorry I didn't call you. I was going to try to say hi when I dropped something off in class, but you looked busy then," Zuko started, hoping she couldn't see through the false bravado he was attempting at putting up. 

"You were there? Ah, I must've been talking with Suki; she needs someone in our major to rant to and I need someone relatively sane to talk to after class," Katara said, her voice light-hearted yet only half-joking. 

"Hey, do you-" He was cut off abruptly by Aang's panicked voice.

"Katara! Tell Toph this is a bad idea-" 

"Can it, twinkle toes! Hey Zuko, wanna help me out?" 

Zuko tried not to think of Uncle Iroh's reaction to a bunch of college kids stalking glass cups, precariously close to a table's edge. A glance in Katara's direction and he saw her more blatantly amused expression. How often did things like this just happen with their friend group?

"Zuko's talking to _me_ thank you, I'm sure there's enough of you to carry on with your plans that always end up in things broken," Katara said with a teasing smirk, causing Sokka to retort with a half-hearted insult. 

"Katara's already stealing our new friend," Suki said with a feigned pout and Toph snickered.

"Better than letting Sokka and Toph's evil little plans infect him." 

Zuko hadn't even put in anything in the conversation when Sokka glanced at Suki and the two went and wrapped him in a hug. He stuttered in confusion but wasn't uncomfortable as Ty Lee had always been springing surprise hugs on him before. To his surprise, Katara burst into giggles at this.

"No hogging anyone!" Sokka said, and Toph made a scoffing noise.

"Says you; you're always hogging Suki, aren't you lover boy?" Toph said teasingly, and the two seemed to turn red in an instant. 

Zuko was still focused on the fact that he found yet another thing about Katara he loved. He didn't think about people's laugh - not to mention the fact they could sound so cute. Zuko hadn't realized he was smiling.

"I wish we could talk without background noise taking over," Katara motioned to the four with an amused sigh. Zuko perked up, remembering his original plan.

"Oh yeah- um, how about we go to a cafe I know then. It's pretty quiet so we should be able to talk fine," He offered, his heart racing as he held his breath as soon as the words left his mouth. Katara's eyes widened, a twinkle in them, and a mischievous tug on the corner of her lips.

"Sounds like a date then, text me the time later okay?" Katara agreed, red flushing her face.

The group left soon after, and when Uncle Iroh came back a few minutes later, Zuko had to quickly explain why he looked like he'd short wired, and why there was a stack of glass cups in the center of one of the tables.

Katara had been only half-serious when she referred to it as a date. Nonetheless, she was very happy she had, even if it left her a blushing mess. How did she go from struggling workaholic to crushing on a guy she had met just last week? 

If only it had been as simple as asking as achieving getting to go on their date. 

She had stood at the doors of the cafe Zuko had sent her the address of, wearing a cerulean dress she hoped was casual enough not to look weird, she waited with her cheeks stained red. While she had tried to distract herself from this newfound nervousness last night by helping Toph go over their notes, When he did arrive, dressed in a red long sleeve and black jeans, Katara figured this would be a perfect day. 

Of course, she should've known better than to let her guard down when people like her friends exist.

Before they even sat down, they ran into Sokka and Suki, both of who seemed too flustered in trying to prove they weren't on a date to ask them if they were. Katara never considered herself impatient, but at the moment she had wondered whether if fratricide was such a big deal. Zuko didn't seem too bothered at first glance, but after a bit, she noticed he kept crossing and uncrossing his arms as Sokka continued some story Suki kept chiming in to explain their presence there.

When they finally got away from those two and their hopeless excuses, Katara found her whimsy returning instantaneously once more. They found a booth in the small cafe, and she inwardly wondered why she hadn't noticed it before as it was so close to their university. 

They'd only just ordered their drinks, Zuko emphasizing that this place's tea was the worst while also somehow simultaneously managing to complain about his Uncle's tea when another interruption occurred. Katara had been smiling without restraint as he spoke, finding herself helplessly in love with the way his voice sounded. And a moment later, another voice sounded -Aang's voice.   
"Katara? Oh, Zuko too!" She turned to see him and Toph behind him, who worked up at the mention of their names.

And so began a twenty-minute conversation where Toph asked questions of why they were here, and Aang trying to get them to stop(he wasn't, he was laughing along right with her). Katara was surprised when Zuko was the first to give in to their teasing to indulge them more. Toph seemed to have no problem warming up to him, which she almost wanted to laugh at considering they hadn't trusted her for their first year of meeting back in high school. Something about being bossy, not that she took their words to heart.

Their drinks were getting a little cold when the two finally left, Toph attempting one last time to escape whatever meditating group he'd signed them up for. Aang was a nice person, but she figured Toph wasn't all in favor of someone telling her what they should do.

If only the interruptions by people had been the worst part. No, the worst part started when it started raining outside, and suddenly more people piled in the cafe. Things had just been getting more interesting conversation wise(Katara critiquing his music choices and Zuko refuting that it was just screaming). They'd attempted to sit outside when the cafe filled out. However, by the time they realized they really couldn't sit outside, the cafe was at its capacity, and they were forced to run in the rain to another building. At some point, Zuko had grabbed hold of her hand, though she felt too disgruntled about all that was happening to give it much thought.

Finally, half soaked, they were able to settle down ina few shaded chairs in front of a book store. There were a few moments of silence Katara wondered how they would fill. Apparently an angry groan from Zuko looking down at the ground was the answer.  
"I'm sorry- I didn't think to check the weather, and I picked that place-" He started.

"Hey, don't do that. It's not your fault, and I had fun while we were there. I like spending time with _you_ , doesn't matter the place," Katara cut in, trying not to blush at her last sentence. Of course, Zuko's face tinging red was enough to make her not care anymore.

"I do too," He agreed with a nod, the rainwater in his hair shaking out a little, making Katara giggle; and Zuko looked at her like she suddenly announced something amazing, his expression practically glowing.

"How about we try this again soon then?" Katara suggested. Her heart fluttered as he seemed to wholly focus on her. She who hadn't even thought she'd make new friends until last week- not to mention an undeniable love for someone she hadn't known long.

"I'd like that," His voice was sure and steady, not a hint of nervousness, and it was full of warmth. Katara felt it was contagious as a smile widened on her expression as well. 

She never thought thinking back to a randomly sent heart emoji would give her a high on happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I hope Zuko wasn't too ooc, as this is my first time writing an atla fic "^^ Happy holidays and have a great day !!


End file.
